Data processing with circuit modeling

Abstract

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to design modeling and/or processing of streaming data. According to an example embodiment, a system to model a hardware specification includes a platform ( 106 ) arranged to receive an input data stream and transmit an output data stream. The system also includes a source ( 102 ) for a streaming application adapted to provide the input data stream at a source data rate, a destination ( 104 ) for the streaming application adapted to consume the output data stream at a destination data rate, and a data channel ( 110 ) coupling the platform and a computer ( 108 ). The computer uses the hardware specification to generate intermediate data streams, which, in turn, are used to streamline the modeling for the platform.

1 . A system to model a hardware specification, comprising: a platform ( 106 ) arranged to receive an input data stream and transmit an output data stream; a source ( 102 ) for a streaming application adapted to provide the input data stream at a source data rate; a destination ( 104 ) for the streaming application adapted to consume the output data stream at a destination data rate; a data channel ( 110 ) coupling the platform and a general purpose computer ( 108 ); and the general purpose computer adapted to generate according to at least a portion of the hardware specification, from a first intermediate data stream, which is received from the platform via the data channel, a second intermediate data stream, which is sent to the platform via the data channel, wherein the first intermediate data stream is based on the input data stream, the output data stream is based on the second intermediate data stream. 
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the platform is based on a programmable logic device (PLD). 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the PLD-based platform includes at least one memory arranged to store a moving interval of the input data stream, the first intermediate data stream, the second intermediate data stream, and the output data stream. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the PLD-based platform is adapted to generate according to at least a portion of the hardware specification, the first intermediate data stream from the input data stream. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the PLD-based platform is adapted to generate according to at least a portion of the hardware specification, the output data stream from the second intermediate data stream. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the PLD-based platform includes a PLD that includes configurable logic and configurable routing. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first intermediate data stream is a copy of the input stream, the output data stream is a copy of the second intermediate data stream, and the general purpose computer is adapted to generate the second intermediate data stream from the first intermediate data stream according to the hardware specification. 
     
     
         8 . A method for modeling an electronic design, comprising: separating the electronic design for a streaming application into a start portion receiving an input data stream for the streaming application, an intermediate portion ( 112 ), and an end portion transmitting an output data stream for the streaming application, based on the streaming data flow through the electronic design; producing a hardware specification for the start portion and the end portion; producing an abstract software model for the intermediate portion; generating configuration data for a programmable logic device (PLD) implementation from the hardware specification, wherein the PLD ( 118 ) includes configurable logic and configurable routing that are programmed by the configuration data;
 generating an executable program from the abstract software model; and operating the PLD using the configuration data and a general purpose computer ( 108 ) using the executable program, wherein the operating models the electronic design.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising validating the electronic design based on the operating. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising: generating a derived hardware specification from the abstract software model; generating another configuration data for a PLD implementation from the hardware specification and the derived hardware specification; and operating the PLD using the another configuration data, wherein the operating implements the electronic design.